The End
by TryxterWolfe
Summary: Edward gives in and comes back to forks two years later, to see Bella. But what does he find? Why is Charlie acting so strangely? One-Shot, set before cliff diving and no visit from Alice.


This piece is a one-shot and quite... random. It's set two years after Edward leaves, and he's finally given in to go and see her. BTW: Alice never has a vision about her, so she never comes back to visit and that whole thing never happens. And, for good measure, Victoria's newborns never come to attack the town. Assume that she found out that Edward left her and left her to wallow in her grief.  
Okay, so enjoy!

Oh and, as always, I do not take credit for anything Twilight. Just this little smidgen I wrote. I don't own the characters or anything like that.

All Edward POV.

* * *

I scolded myself as I drove. I curse my mind for convincing itself that I could do this.

Whipping through the dark, flying over the uneven pavement, I didn't bother stopping at any stop signs or obey the smallest of traffic rules. I had a purpose tonight. One that, I know, would get the best of me

No. I could not interfere. I had made a promise, and I would uphold that promise until the day I would perish in flames.

I came to the mouth of the small town, rain already falling from the sky. They were the familiar thick sheets of water that always fell around here. I made a mentle note to not leave any watermarks in her bedroom.

No, it wouldn't come to that. I would allow myself to view from a distance, but not emerse myself within her boundaries. There were rules, and I needed to follow them.

My breath stopped as I found my way without any conscious effort to her street and to her house. I took one moment to take in the view of her home. It was the same as I remembered it -- maybe the paint was a little more weather-beaten since my last look at it almost two years ago.

Two years.

Years mean only mear hours to an immortal, but to a human girl, two years was a long time. A very long time.

Would she harbor ill feelings toward me for hurting her? Would she curse my name and order me to leave and never come back? I knew I could never know the answers to these questions. I wasn't here to speak to her. Just... view from a distance.

Oh, how I wished more than ever to hear her mind. How I could plant a small token, reminding her of me, and then I would hear her secrets, hear what she was feeling about me. Know if it was right to come here. If she even wanted me here.

I took a large, unnneeded breath and stepped out of my car. Before the door had even latched shut, I was across the street and to the back side of the house. Lightly, I leaped to the all too familiar window.

An empty room laid out before me, the bed made and the room tidy. Nothing seemed out of place. Though, it seemed, that the computer was gone. Had her father finally given her an upgrade to a laptop?

But something felt... off. I couldn't explain it, but I had to investigate. I had to know why she wasn't in her bed, safe and warm, dreaming her human dreams. I had been hoping for her dreaming, it was the only glimpses I had into her mind.

Sliding the window aside, it wasn't as well oiled as my past secret visitations had been. It seemed as if it hadn't been used for a long time.

I climbed nimbly to the floor, not bothering to close the window. If she were to come back, I would need a quick escape.

But would I escape? Would I be able to leave when I was just so close, now? So close that I could almost taste her?

I didn't dare breath, for fear of her scent striking me like it had that first day of Biology, when I met this heavely creature. I didn't want those feelings to come crashing back. There were no one around to keep me from taking her, this time.

I searched the house with my hearing, trying to pinpoint where exactly she was, but all I found was the sound of the heavy rain on the roof.

Where was her father? Shouldn't he have been here, in his bed, sleeping? I was sure it was a Tuesday, so he did have to work the next morning. He should be sleeping, and so should my angel.

But where were they?

I took a light sniff of the air of the bedroom. Immediately, all I could smell was dust. Running a finger across the top of her desk where the old computer once sat, I collected a line of dust. The room smelled old and unused.

I took another long whiff. Yes, there was her scent under all of the aged air. But it was dull, old. It was almost as if they bedroom door hadn't been opened in a very long time.

My curiosity getting the best of me, as it always did, and I slowly opened the door to the bedroom.

No lights greeted me, nor any sounds.

I quickly made a sweep of the house, checking the bathroom, the Police Chief's room and even the kitchen and livingroom. I couldn't even help it as I checked in the hallway linnen closet.

Her father's scent was everywhere, mostly concentrated in the livingroom. I ventured to the kitchen, again, opening the fridge out of curiosity. It was lightly stocked, mostly just eggs and bacon and milk.

I turned, looking through the cabinets. Peas that were a year old, the same with green beans and even quick and easy pasta boxes. Most of the food was expired.

Out of habit, I sat in one of the timeless diningtable chairs, leaning on the table.

How could this be? I picked the one night that she wouldn't be home?

A car pulling into the driveway made me leap up, bolting up the stairs in one leap and to her bedroom. I made to spring out of the window, but stopped when I heard a small sniffle downstairs.

I tried in vain to search the thoughts of the only human in the house, but failed. Could it be? Could it really be her?

I turned back to the door, slowly opening it as I stalked quietly toward the mouth of the stairs.

To my surprise, it was her father, hunched over in a chair, his wet jacket still hanging over his shoulders. Why couldn't I hear his thoughts? I knew I always had a hard time with his, but all the same, there was always something for me to pick up. But not now. Now, there was nothing. As if he didn't exist as he sat in his favorite chair, his head hanging low, his arms leaning on his knees.

I would have assumed him tired, until I heard him sniff, again. Was he crying?

Daring to take a closer look, I snuck quietly down the stairwell, but bolted into the kitchen when he stood. He ambled up the stairs, never taking his soaked jacket off. I could see the glistening pools of water that he left behind.

As I silently walked into the livingroom, I caught sight of his luggage. The tags on the outside of them were marked for Phoenix. Was he upset because she finally decided to move in with her mother?

Of course she would. She loved the sun, and there would be no holding her to Forks once I had left. She probably detested the town, now, and could think of nothing less than escaping back to her familiar home.

I sighed, turning away from the luggage before moving back to the stairs. Though, something crinkled and wet caught my eye next to the chair. It seemed the Chief had dropped a piece of paper. It was unusually thick, almost like a card.

Lifting it carefully, I sat down in his chair, smoothing the paper out on my lap.

The first picture I caught was hers. Her eyes were wide and bright, but looked a little apprehensive. I couldn't help but smile. She always hated to have her picture taken.

There was a note along the bottom, written in a messy scrawl that looked much like her own, but a few things were off. The loops the 'e's made were too large, and the letters were strung closer together. I assumed it was her mother's.

It read:

"Thank you for coming, Charlie. I know she would have wanted you there. I love you."

Would have?

Where was my love?

I stood, moving back to the luggage to find exactly what the note meant. I couldn't even unzip the first compartment before I heard her father's footfalls coming back down the stairs.

I pressed myself to the wall as he turned to the kitchen. I heard the distince sound of a phone being lifted from the cradle and the dialing of an 11 didget number.

I leaned around the corner to see half of her father's shoulder sticking out from the wall between us.

The phone rang once before someone picked up.

"Hello?" It was her mother's voice. Though muffled slightly, I could still make out her words.

"It's me," he said in a low, gruff voice. He sounded as if his throat was clogged.

"Oh, good, I'm glad you made it home." Was I mistaken, or was that sorrow underlining her voice?

"Yeah."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He didn't sound anywhere close to the meaning of the word. What in the world was going on?

"Are you going to be alright by yourself?" her mother asked.

"I've been alone, before. I'll be fine."

"I'm sorry. I'm just worried about you. How are you... holding up?"

"I said I'm fine!" he snapped.

"Charlie, please don't act like everything is okay." She sounded close to crying.

"I know it's not okay, Renee!" he shouted. "Just... just leave me be. I'll be... I'll be fine."

There was a silence before she spoke, again.

"You're not the only one hurting, Charlie," she spoke softly. "Don't shut us out. We're here for you."

"Don't you think I know that?" he demanded, sharply. I was taking a little aback by his tone. I had never heard him speak in such a way. What could have been so terrible that he would be breaking down like this?

Almost like a bucket was spilled and all of the puzzle pieces were splayed out in front of me in useless, senseless mess, I finally saw the meaning in them. Reluctantly, I pieced the puzzle together. I sank a little to my knees every time more of the confusion was rubbed away.

No... no, it couldn't be. Not her...

"Charlie, please. Understand-"

"What's there to understand, Renee?! She's not coming back! My little girl isn't coming back!"

Please, please don't let the horror be true!

"I know that!" she yelled back, her voice ringing into the air from the earpiece. "She wasn't just your little girl, Charlie, she was mine, too!"

"She was all that I had!" he continued as if he didn't hear her. "And now she's-" he choked on the last word.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed.

"I shouldn't have let this happen!" he cried, pounding his fist into the wall. The sound reverbarated through my being.

"There was nothing you could do! There wasn't anything either of us could do! How were we supposed to know about the cancer-"

"It doesn't matter! I'm her father! I should have known better!"

"The doctors said we couldn't do anything," she tried to reason, but the cracking in her voice gave her no strength to. "It was too progressed and there were no signs. None of us knew!"

"No, but if one of us had, she's be alive, today!"

I didn't know that a dead heart was capable of breaking.

My Bella... My Bella was dead.

* * *

I know. I'm a bad, bad person. This just popped into my head. I mean, I don't know why, but it did. And I didn't exactly read it over fully, so I apologize for any spelling mistakes or confusions. I just needed to get this out. Again, I have no idea why.

Riley


End file.
